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| Image Credit: Gillie Sibrian/UNC-Chapel Hill |
Critically endangered shark meat is being sold at American grocery stores — often under misleading labels — according to a new study conducted by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill.
The researchers purchased and DNA barcoded 29 shark meat products from stores in North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; Florida and Georgia and from online vendors. DNA testing revealed 11 different species of shark, yet 93% of the samples were ambiguously labeled as “shark” or “mako shark” at stores with no species-level identification.
Of the 11 species sold in stores, three are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature — the great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead and tope. Another species sold in stores, the shortfin mako shark, is listed as endangered by the IUCN.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration only requires sellers to label shark meat as “shark,” with no specific species name required.
“It was really shocking to see everything so generically labeled because there’s hundreds of species of sharks, and they vary enormously with their habitats, size, diet and everything about them,” said recent Carolina doctoral graduate Savannah Ryburn, who was the lead author of the study published in Frontiers in Marine Science.
“It was shocking to see critically endangered species not only being generically labeled but also being sold super cheaply. Some of the scalloped hammerhead samples were $2.99 a pound — and this is an apex predator that’s critically endangered.”
The study was carried out by students, teaching assistants and instructors in a seafood forensics class taught by John Bruno, the Chi Omega Distinguished Professor in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ biology department. The course gives students the opportunity to analyze food samples and has shown that mislabeling is rampant at the seafood counter.
“We’ve been socialized to accept generic labeling of seafood in grocery stores,” Bruno said. “It’s not just shark. Scallops, shrimp, all kinds of things, are often just generically labeled. Fish sticks could be made of thousands of different species.
“With terrestrial animals, it’s very specific: cow, goat, pig, chicken. But imagine if the label was just ‘meat,’ and you had no idea if it was possum or armadillo or cow. It’s really strange how this is a normal aspect of purchasing modern food.”
The IUCN has estimated that of the approximately 550 species of sharks in existence, 14% are vulnerable, 11% endangered and 12% are critically endangered. Sharks are primarily caught for their valuable fins, which are used to make the delicacy shark fin soup. Shark meat, which is rich in urea, is generally poor tasting.
Mislabeling of critically endangered sharks poses a risk not only to the shark population but to consumers themselves, as sharks like the scalloped hammerhead can contain high levels of mercury.
“A previous study has looked into how much mercury is in different species of shark tissue, and they found dangerous levels in scalloped hammerhead and great hammerhead,” Ryburn said. “They actually recommended that humans should never be consuming those species of sharks, so it was alarming when we found those in our samples.”
Ryburn and Bruno said that changes to U.S. laws, like the FDA’s regulations on labeling seafood products, are necessary to protect both consumers and endangered sharks.
“The science is fun, and the students are great, but it’s just disgusting that we are selling these really ancient animals for $4 a pound,” Bruno said. “It’s not even valuable, and it’s truly heartbreaking.
“I’ve worked on illegal shark fishing in Ecuador and have gone onto the fishing vessels that are just full of hundreds of sharks that were illegally caught. I’ve experienced it hands on, and it’s unbelievable that it’s allowed.”
Title: Sale of critically endangered sharks in the United States
Authors: Savannah J. Ryburn, Tammy Yu, Kelly J. Ong, Eldridge Wisely, Meggan A. Alston, Ella Howie, Peyton LeRoy, Sarah Elizabeth Giang, William Ball, Jewel Benton, Robert Calhoun, Isabella Favreau, Ana Gutierrez, Kayla Hallac, Dakota Hanson, Teagan Hibbard, Bryson Loflin, Joshua Lopez, Gracie Mock, Kailey Myers, Andrés Pinos-Sánchez, Alejandra Maria Suarez Garcia, Adriana Retamales Romero, Audrey Thomas, Rhiannon Williams, Anabel Zaldivar, and John F. Bruno
Source/Credit: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Michael Lananna
Reference Number: cons100925_01
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